Master Ahern fails to make the grade

DAY ONE, Paper One of the big test and the candidate was projecting an air of quiet confidence.

Young Master Ahern arrived at the hall in casual conversation with his pal, Tomcat Kitt, and took his seat smartly a minute or two before questions began.

The thick folder of well-thumbed pages with scribbles along the margins was the first indication that perhaps his preparations were not all they might have been.